Automatic oil-controller.



.F.- E. cums. AUTOMATIC 0 |L CONTROLLER.

I APPLICATION FILED IAN- l3. l9l7 1,237, 21 Patented Alig". 21, 1917.

IHTIITHI crank-case, so as to maintain a normal UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

FRANK n. cums, or OMAHA, NEBRASKA, 'ssrcnon 'ro WALDO n. runes, or CHICAGO,

. A ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC OIL-CONTROLLER.

ternal-combustion engines, and particularly 'such engines as are used 1n motor-vehicles.

It is the object of my invention to provide means for automatically maintaining a sub stantially constant quantity of lubricatingoil in the crank-case of an engine of the described class, regardless of the disturbance of the oil-level occasioned by splashing thereof when the engine is running. A further object of my invention is to provide means for automatically replenishing thesupply of lubricating-oil in the engine quiescent level thereof. A further object of my invention is to provide means for automatically preventing operation of the oilreplenishing means whenever the engine is running. More detailed objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of an engine provided with oil-supplying and controlling means embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a detail vertical sectional view of the oil-controller, Fig, 3 is a detail plan view of the same, and Fig. 4 is a transverse section thereof looking upwardly from the horizontal plane of the line H of Fig. 2.

In many engines of the class commonly used in motor-vehicles, the principal lubri cation thereof is afforded by a supply of oil carried in the crank-case of the engine and splashed onto the moving parts by .the' movements of the crank-shaft and connecting-rods during running of the engine. To secure efiicient lubrication of the engine it is essential that a substantially constant quantity of oil-be maintained in the crank-case; since if the amount of'oil is too great it.will be wasted by burning in the cylinders, causing carbon deposits therein and disagreeable fumes in the exhaust; while if the amount of oil is insufficient the parts will not be prop-- erly lubricated. The amount of oil in the crank-case can be definitely ascertained only when the engine is not running, and then, as the body of oil assumes a quiescent level, the amount is readily shown by the use of a gage-glass or the like. simple float-controlled valve, adjusted so as to close when the oil is at or above the desired normal level, will serve to control the admission of oil from a suitable storage reservoir, but such a valve, if used by itself, would permit flooding of the engine with oil when the normal or ,quiescent level was lowered by splashing thereof during" running of the engine.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention there is provided a means for stor- Patented Aug. 21, 1917.

At such times a ing a supply of oil and delivering the same under moderate pressure, comprising a tank 5 supported at a suitable elevation and connected by means of a pipe 6 with the controlling valve-mechanism. The latter has a casing of which the main body 7 is substan- .tially cylindrical and incloses a float-chamber 8. The upper end of the float-chamber is closed by a head 9 removably secured to the body 7 by screws 10. At one side of the casing there is a threaded opening for receiving the end of: a short pipe 11, the same extending into 'a similar opening in the lower portion of the engine crank-case A and thereby connecting the float-chamber with the oil-chamber in said crank-case. At one side of the body 7 there is a projecting vertically-perforate lug 12 through which is passed the lower end-portion of a small supporting-rod 13, the same being threaded and provided with suitable nuts 14 above and below the lug, end of the rod having a laterally extending eye which is secured to the engine by means of one of the casing-bolts B. At one side of the body 7 a small gage-glass-or column 15 is connected therewith by means of a pipe-nipple l6, and a drain-cock 17 may also be provided in connection with the gage, as shown. The gage, of course, shows the oillevel in the float-chamber. At the lower end of the chambered body 7 there is an integral projecting portion 18 inclosing a valve-chamber 19 which is shouldered at its intermediate portion to provide a seat 20 for a valve 21. The lower end of the valve-chamber has a plug 22 screwed therein, said plug having a threaded central open ing for receiving the end of a tubular sleeve 23 with which the oil-supply pipe 6 is conand the upper nected. The upper end of the valve-chamber is connected by diagonal passages 24 with the float-chamber 8. The valve. 21 is screwed onto the threaded lower terminal portion of a stem 25, the valve preferably having a facing-disk 26 of leather or the extends slidably through a vertical opening between the passages 24 into the lower end of the float-chamber, and supports at its upper end a washer 30 which bears against the lower side of the float 31. The valvestem 25 extends axially through the flpat,

and at its upper end has a relatively wide flat head 32. Beneath said head a sleeve 33 is disposed around the-stem, the lower end of said sleeve engaging a washer 34 which bears against the upper end of the float. The float and valve are so proportioned and arranged that when there is the desired level of oil in the float-chamber the float will raise the valve against the seat 20, as shown in Fig. 2, and shut 0d the flow of oil from the pipe 6 to the floatchamber.

The head 9 of the chambered body 7 has an upwardly projecting central portion having formed in the lower part thereof a small cylinder 35 in which a piston or plunger 36 is fitted so as to be vertically slidable therein. A small coil spring 37 is disposed within the upper part of the cylinder, extending up into a recess in a projecting nipple 38- at the end thereof. Said spring normally presses the plunger down into engagement with stops formed by washers 39 which are secured on the lower side of the head 9 by screws 40, as shown. The lower end of the plunger 36 is cylindrically recessed, and two flat springs 41 are secured thereto so as to extend in radially from the sides thereof toward the center, the outer ends of the springs lying in notches in the edge of the plunger and having portions of the material swaged in around them to retain them in the notches. The valve-stem and sleeve 33 extend between the adjacent ends of the springs 41, so that the head 32 of thestem lies above the inner terminal portions of the springs. The depth of the engagement with the shoulder at the end of the cylinder 35, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.2, the springs 41- engage the head 32 of the valve-stem and retaln the same in the raised position at which the valve is closed, the springs being slightly bent when the plunger is at its limit of upward movement. The nipple 38 is internally threaded to receive a tubular elbow 42, and from thelatter a small pipe or tube 43 is extended to and connected with the intake manifold-pipe D of the engine at a point between the carbureter C and the engine cylinders.

In the head of the float-chamber there is a small airL-v e-nt 4A, so that the lower end of the'plunger 36 is constantly subject to atmospheric pressurerunning the suction from its cylinders causes a considerable reduction of air-pressurein the intake-pipe D, and as the latter is in communication with the cylinder 35,through parent. When the engine is not running the oil in the crankcase assumes its normal quiescent level, and said level will be the same in the float-chamber 8 and gage 15, the oil flowing through the connecting pipes 11 and 16. Should the oil-level be below'the nor mal, the float 31 will drop suliiciently to open the valve and permit a flowof oil from When the engine is the storage-tank 5 until the level is restored to the'normal, when the float will be raised to close the valve and stop the supply from the tank. WVhen the engine is started, the suction in the pipe D lifts the plunger-'36 and holds the valve in closed position until the en ine is stopped, whereupon the valve is free so that automatic replenishment of the oil-supply may occur by the operation of the float. It may be noted that movement of air through the pipe 13 is only momentary, occurring merely at the times that the engine is started or stopped, since when the plunger is lifted by the suction thereon it engages the shoulder at the upper end of the cylinder 35, seating on said shoulder like a valve, so as to prevent leakage of air past the same. The slightly resilient connection between the plunger and valve-stem, afi'orded by the springs 41, enables the plunger to have a slight movement in excess of that required to firmly close the oil-'valve, to insure engagement of the plunger with the end of its-cylinder without liability of the oil-valve being left open. As but a comparatively small amount of lubricating-oil is actually consumed by the engine of a motorvehicle during such periods of time as the engine would ordinarily be run continuously, it will be apparent that the described device, by automatically replenishing the oil-supply whenever the engine is stopped, provides a simple and positive means for maintaining a substantially constant amount of oil in the crank-case.

Now, having described my invention,what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with an engine having a lubricating-oil chamber in which the oil-level is altered during running of the engine, of an oil-storage receptacle connected with said chamber a valve controlling the flow of oil from said receptacle to said chamber, means normally controlling said valve' to open and close the same in accord ance with changes of the oil-level in the chamber, and means for automatically retaining said controlling means in valve-closing position during running of the engine.

2. In a lubricating-oil controller for engines of the class described, a source of oilsupply, a valve normally controlling flow of oil from said source to a receiving-chamber in accordance with changes of oil-level in said chamber, and means for automatically retaining said valve in closed position during running of the engine.

3.-In a lubricating-oil controller for'em gines of the class described, a source for supplying oil under pressure to a receivingchamber, means for automatically preventing flow of oil to said chamber from said source when the oil in said chamber is above a predeterminable level, and means for antomatically preventing the flow of oil to said cham r from said source when the engine is running.

4.. In a lubricating-oil controller for engines of the described class, means for supplying oil to a receiving-chamber, a floatcontrolled valve associated with said chamher and normally controlling the flow of oil thereto, and means for automatically holding said valve closed when the engine is running.

5. The combination with an internal-combustion engine having an inlet-pipe and a chamber for lubricatingoil, of a source for supplying oil to said chamber, a valve controlling flow of oil from said source to said chamber, actuating means for closing and opening said valve normally in accordance with the rise and fall of the oil-level in said chamber, and valve-actuating means dominating the first-named actuating means therefor and controlled by variations of pressure in the inlet-pipe.

6. The combination with an internal-combustion engine having a charge-inlet pipe and a chamber for lubricating oil, of a source for supplying oil to said chamber, a valve controlling flow of oil from said source to said chamber, a float associated with said chamber and valve and normally movable by changes of oil-level in the chamber to open and close the valve, and a means for actuating said float controlled by variations of pressure in the charge-inlet pipe of the engine.

7. The combination with an internal-combustion engine having a charge-inlet pipe and a chamber for lubricating-oil, of a source for supplying oil to said chamber, a

valve controlling flow of oil from said.

source to said chamber, a float associated with said valve and chamber and normally actuating the valve to closed position when the oil rises to a predeterminable level in the chamber, and air-pressure actuated valve-controlling means connected with the chargeinlet pipe and adapted to retain the valve in closed position when the pressure in. the charge-inlet pipe is below atmospheric pressure.

FRANK E. CURTS. 

